For almost two decades it has been considered thatthe third Monday of January the saddest day of the yearalso called “Blue Monday” and translated as ““Sad Monday”. The belief at least prevails in the northern hemisphere. The origin of this day is questioned by the scientific community and floods networks like Twitter with the label #BlueMondaybut where does this come from?popular belief”. Here we explain.
You may have already noticed that the social networks stand out messages of cheer up for the “Blue Monday”. The basis of this date is an assumed mathematical formula which was harshly criticized by the scientific community for having no basis or basis.
It all started in 2005, through a advertising campaign of the now extinct British travel company Sky Travel. The questioned foundation was carried out by the psychologist Cliff Arnallwho allegedly created a equation with which it was possible determine which day makes people feel the saddest.
The idea of the travel company was to determine what was the ideal date to start the trip. prepare for summer vacation and increase your points of sale.
The equation supposedly considered variables such as climatelas debts for the end of the year celebrations, known in Latin America like ‘january cost‘, among other data.
As for the name, the “Blue“, “blue” in Spanish, is a color related to sadnessespecially during this time in the northern hemisphere, since the Days are shorter and the absence of light increases the so-called “blue twilight”.
The scientific community believes that This equation lacks scientific foundations to be able to specify that there is the saddest day of the year or “Blue Monday“, although that did not take away its popularity and there are even companies that have used the date to offer services o products that “promote well-being” among consumers.
In a text of You connectof the Tecnológico de Monterreyhe psychology specialist of the educational entity in Monterrey, Ruben Angel Sillasdetails that determining that a specific day is the saddest of the year “It is a bit risky, since people’s moods are not made up of single events and mathematics.”.
For the academic, “affectivity involves social, cultural, ideological contexts and, above all, subjectivity”.
From this same perspective, the academic spoke Ricardo Trujillo Correa, of the UNAM Faculty of Psychologyin a text published in UNAM Gazettewho points out that determining that there is the saddest day of the year is pseudosciencewell andA person’s state of mind is not made up of single events“it would be like believing that December 31 influences us to rethink our life or February 14 has something that makes us more romantic.”
Likewise in a text of UNAM Foundation the academic of the Faculty of Psychology, Hugo Sanchezdetails that once Once the holiday season is over, for many people, January is a period of self-criticism and evaluation, or reflection and melancholy, but without reaching a pathological situation.so the “Blue Monday” It cannot affect someone’s feeling of sadness, since it depends on many factors other than a date on the calendar..
What is a fact is that this day can help us reflect about our moods and in the support we can provide to those who go through streaks of sadness, states of depression, anxiety and stressno matter what it isBlue Monday“.
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